List of island countries

This is a list of island countries. An island is a landmass (smaller than a continent) that is surrounded by water. Many island countries are spread over an archipelago, as is the case with Indonesia, Japan, and the Philippines—these countries consist of thousands of islands. Others consist of a single island, such as Barbados, Dominica, and Nauru; a main island and some smaller islands, such as Cuba, Iceland, and Sri Lanka; a part of an island, such as Brunei, the Dominican Republic, East Timor, and the Republic of Ireland; or one main island but also sharing borders in other islands, such as the United Kingdom (Great Britain and a part of Ireland).

The list also includes two states in free association with New Zealand, the Cook Islands and Niue, as well as two states with limited diplomatic recognition which have de facto control over territories entirely on the islands, Northern Cyprus and Taiwan. In total, 50 island countries have been included in the lists.

Australia is not included as it is considered a continental country, although it was historically referred to as an island country because of its lack of land borders.

Greenland is generally considered as the largest island on Earth and listed among the island territories.

Indonesia is the world's largest island country by area (1,904,569 km²), and by total number of islands (17,504 islands). It is also the world's most populous island country, with a population of over 270 million (the fourth most populous country in the world, after India, China, and the United States).

Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea is officially an unincorporated territory of the United States.

South America is the only inhabited continent without an island country.

Sovereign states

UN member states and states with limited recognition

Associated states

Dependencies and other territories

Former sovereign island nations and primarily island-based countries

Africa

Asia

Europe

North America

Oceania

Former colonies, possessions, protectorates, and other territories

• Annobón (1474-1778), now part of Equatorial Guinea
• Bay Islands, now a department of Honduras
• Cape Breton Island, now part of Nova Scotia, Canada
• Danish West Indies, now the United States Virgin Islands
• Elobey, Annobón and Corisco (1843–1926) unified with the rest of Spanish Guinea
• Fernando Po (1778-1926)
• The Territory of Hawaii, now Hawaii, a state of the United States
• Heligoland (1807–1890)
• Hong Kong Island (1841–1860), now a part of Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China
• United States of the Ionian Islands, protectorate of the United Kingdom.
• Septinsular Republic, protectorate in the Ionian Islands under nominal Russo-Ottoman joint sovereignty.
• Labuan, briefly part of British North Borneo, the Straits Settlements and Sabah, now a federal territory of Malaysia
• Mayotte, now an overseas department and region of France
• Minorca (1713–1802)
• Colony of Newfoundland (1583–1907)
• New Hebrides, now Vanuatu
• British North Borneo
• Padang
• Prince of Wales Island between 1786 and 1800, at that point joined by Province Wellesley (now Seberang Perai). Now as the state of Penang in the Malaysian federation.
• Prince Edward Island, now a province of Canada
• The Providence Island colony
• Queen Charlotte Islands
• Réunion, now an overseas department and region of France
•  Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla, former British overseas territory dissolved in 1983.
• Socotra Archipelago, now a governorate of Yemen
• Tasmania, now a state of Australia, shares a land boundary with Victoria on Boundary Islet
• Vancouver Island, now a part of British Columbia, Canada
• People's Republic of Zanzibar, now a member of the United Republic of Tanzania.

Island countries with man-made fixed links to continents

•  Bahrain to  Saudi Arabia via the King Fahd Causeway
•  Singapore to  Malaysia via the Johor–Singapore Causeway since 1924, with the Tuas Second Link added in 1998
•  United Kingdom to  France via the Channel Tunnel

See also

• Archipelagic state
• List of archipelagos
• List of Caribbean countries by population
• List of countries that border only one other country
• List of divided islands
• Lists of islands
• List of islands by area
• List of islands by population
• List of islands by population density
• List of Oceanian countries by population
• List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Oceania
• List of sovereign states and dependent territories in the Indian Ocean
• Small Island Developing States
• Thalassocracy

Notes

References

External links

• Island superlatives

1. Island country
2. Lists of islands
3. List of countries and dependencies by area
4. List of countries by number of islands
5. List of countries by largest island
6. List of islands in the Pacific Ocean
7. List of countries and dependencies by population
8. List of countries and territories by number of land borders
9. List of countries by GDP (nominal)
10. List of European countries by area
11. Lists of sovereign states and dependent territories
12. List of countries by GDP (nominal) per capita
13. List of sovereign states
14. List of countries by Human Development Index
15. List of countries by GDP (PPP)
16. List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Oceania
17. List of countries by income equality
18. List of countries that border only one other country
19. List of Mediterranean countries
20. List of sovereign states and dependent territories in the Indian Ocean